The Coromandel Peninsula is located towards the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. The area itself is one of stunning natural beauty, and aside from the scuba diving, there are a vast array of activities available for the more adventurous travellers. Each year, large numbers of resident New Zealanders travel here to hike (or tramp) through one of the many bush areas, or just spend time on one of the Coromandel Peninsulas fantastic beaches.
The scuba diving on the Coromandel Peninsula is split into three main areas, The Hahei (The Whanganui Marine Reserve) National Marine Park, The Mercury Islands, and the Tairua Area. Overall, the region offers a good mixture of colourful reefs, steep walls and large kelp covered boulders, all of which amount to some decent dive sites which are well worth visiting if you are travelling through New Zealand.
The Hahei Marine Reserve is located just off the coast in the Mercury Bay area of Coromandel. Also known as Cathedral Cove, the marine reserve covers an area of approximately 9 square kilometres, and offers divers a good mixture of reefs, caves and archways. Having a marine park status has also ensured that the area has maintained a good level of fish and plant life, along with large populations of crustacean and molluscs.
Within the marine reserve, there are a number of dive sites including Waikaranga Island, Okotere Island and Kingfish Reef. The most popular dive site in the Hahei Marine Reserve is South Sunk Rock, which is a large rocky area, which reaches the surface, and goes down to just over 30 metres. Here, amongst the crevices, swim throughs and sponges, you will find good populations of mackerel, moki and some huge marble fish.
To the north of Mercury Bay are the Mercury Islands, and although there are a number of islands in the group, the majority of diving tends to focus on the large wall at Never Fail Reef. This kelp covered rock wall drops off steeply to around 38 metres, and offers divers good populations of wrasse, butterfish and red moki amongst others. There is also some decent diving to be done at Black Rocks and Whale Rock.
The Tairua area also offers some good dive sites off Slipper Island where the large, natural boulder banks provide a home for a large amount of marine life.
There are also a number of very good dive sites at the Alderman Islands, which are located about 12 miles off the Tairua coast. As they are located in the slightly warmer Eastern currents, the Alderman Islands are home to some tropical and sub-tropical fish life, and there have been sightings here of Sunfish, Marlin and Turtles. Overall, there is a considerable amount of marine life amongst the underwater pinnacles of the Alderman Islands, and it is also possible to spot seals, crayfish and red moki amongst the kelp forests surrounding the islands.
Water temperatures in the Coromandel Peninsula can vary depending on the season and the currents, however the water temperature will average around 20-21 degrees centigrade in the summer, down to around 12 degrees centigrade in the winter.
[Close]
Flat Island
(1)
Read more
RSS Feeds
